The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers have been trade partners six times.
In an ongoing series here at Lake Show Life, we are breaking down the best trade that the Los Angeles Lakers have made with every other NBA franchise. Today, we break down the best trade made with the cross-hall rival Los Angeles Clippers.
The Lakers and Clippers have been trade partners six times but only one of those six trades came with the Clippers in Los Angeles — which was the recent Ivica Zubac-centered trade.
Before that, the last trade between the Lakers and Clippers came all the way back in October of 1983, which also happened to be the best trade that the Lakers have made with the Clippers.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ best ever trade with the Los Angeles Clippers:
In this trade, the Los Angeles Lakers acquired one of the greatest role players in franchise history in exchange for a veteran point guard who was fantastic in Norm Nixon but did not fit well alongside Magic Johnson.
The Lakers needed a guard who did not need the ball to be successful to open the door for Johnson to become the superstar that he would become. Thus, the Lakers traded Norm Nixon, Eddie Jordan and two second-round picks for the fourth overall pick in the 1983 NBA Draft, Byron Scott.
This worked out wonderfully for the Lakers. Scott became the team’s starting shooting guard during the Showtime Era and was the perfect guard to put alongside Magic Johnson. Scott did not garner many accolades, but he was a part of three championship teams in Los Angeles.
Scott averaged 15.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game in his career with the Los Angeles Lakers. His best scoring season came in the 1987-88 season, where he averaged 21.7 points per game, the only time he would average above 20 in a season.
Scott has been a staple of the Lakers franchise even past his time with the Showtime Lakers. Whether it be coming back to be Kobe Bryant’s mentor in the late 1990s, being involved in organizational aspects or coaching the team (which was dreadful), Scott is a Laker for life, without a doubt.
RELATED: Byron Scott through the ages
And as talented as Nixon was, it was clear that the fit just was not there with Magic. The other three players that the Clippers got in this trade, Jordan, Hornacek and Dalrymple, never played a single game with the Clippers.
A fantastic trade that helped define the Showtime Era, it is easily the best trade the Lakers have made with the Clippers and it is not even close.